Autumn leaves
by GlimerOfhope
Summary: They let the wall of silence come between them until it became too thick to break. SetoxSerenity. Definitely a oneshot.


**Autumn leaves**

Disclaimer : I don't own yugioh, however the imaginary things here are mine.

She sat on the window ledge, tired and eyes closed. Only the soft breeze blowing in from the dark opening dared to disturb the stagnant silence of her room. An autumn leaf that lost its way floated away from the others, waving around even so slowly until it rested on her hand .She opened her eyes and stared at the uncommon intruder for a while. When she tried to get hold of it, the leaf deserted her. It was gone the same way it came.

She put her coat on, and was about to turn the doorknob when a voice called behind her:

"Mummy, where are you going?"

"Go back to sleep Seto, it's late." She whispered.

The little boy nodded slowly and turned to leave; his small figure vanishing in the darkness of the hall.

She was vaguely aware of the commotion of people that were rushing in both directions as her mind wandered in the moments of her early age then stopped short fixing on one particular period. It was something utterly trivial in itself, neither of them spoke about it or felt the need to break the thick barrier of silence they came to accept as part of their lives. Deep inside, she knew that they would certainly have continued in this strain for more time. For how long exactly, she didn't have the slightest idea but a nagging voice in the back of her head constantly warned her that it would have been _for ever_. And each time, she couldn't help but think the same and reluctantly agree. She couldn't afford to wait for ever, could she? And who can by the way? Time was running fast and too many forces were pulling in different directions, all in the same time. Who could blame her if she wasn't strong enough; he never gave her a reason to believe in or an incentive to fight for; so why the regret? Eventually, she married someone else. A man she hoped will make her forget.

Abruptly, she found herself on the ground, and winced from the hard fall. Her purse spilled it contents on the cold pavement. Someone groaned:

"People don't daydream when they walk!"

It was a dark starless night, only the lights that were on illuminated the whole length of the avenue. The leaves fell slowly from the trees dancing at the cold air rhythm. She lifted her head to stare at the chain of the misty brilliance that was floating in the air. A soar taste lingered in her throat as she let her eyes rest on the bluish shiny blur; that colour never gave peace to her mind.

In a similar night, at the same place, she had seen him for the first time in years. At first, she wanted to run as fast as she could but her feet betrayed her, it was almost as if they had a mind of their own when she took quick strides to reach his retreating form.

"Kaiba," she cried out. She had to say it again, louder this time.

He turned, clearly furious at the impudent person that was about to make him waste some minutes of his precious time. His eyes when meeting hers twitched or so she thought. He fixed her with a cold gaze, colder than the chilling air that played mercilessly with some strands of her hair.

"Who are you?"

She flinched, she didn't expect that. Was it possible that he had forgotten? She couldn't have changed that much; she was still in her twenties. Or perhaps it was just his personal way to tell her that she meant nothing. He has always been so vindictive.

She allowed herself a weak, sad smile when she offered her response:

"Serenity, Serenity wheeler; Joey wheeler's little sister."

She added the last part on purpose, he couldn't ignore that name.

"Do you have something to say?" he sounded annoyed, as if he'd rather be somewhere else, in other people's company or just alone. Obviously, he wasn't thrilled by this unexpected encounter.

For the second time, she was taken aback. But she understood.

Her mind however pondered on what he just said: what sort of question was that? Of course, she wanted to say something, many things as a matter of fact. Didn't he? But she wasn't able to voice a sound; and the words she yearned to set free got stuck in her throat. That reminded her of the reason she kept silent back then. She was never able to tell what was in his mind and even less, _his heart_.

Several people went past them. People they didn't know. She looked at him with anxious hazel eyes and swept her bangs off to the side with a nervous gesture. Then, in the hopeless tone of desperation, she ventured:

"How have you been?"

"Fine, anything else?" His voice was harsh, dismissive.

Eyes misty with tears, she started to run away from him. A few meters away, she couldn't resist the temptation to turn around and see him one more time. Oddly enough, he was where she had left him, his eyes never darting from her. She brought her hand up, waved and shrieked rather loudly: "Adieu!" then went her way.

Since that day, it became almost as a ritual. Walking in this avenue filled her with all sorts of strange and almost painful excitements. And when she thought about it, out of all the things she wished she had the courage to say was that her boy was named after him: 'Seto'.

"Are you alright, M'am? Let me help you." A passer-by, a perfect stranger with a featureless face knelt beside her.

"Here, your purse." She thanked him and stood up half-willingly.

A yellow leaf found its way to the palm of her hand. This time however she let go of what she could no longer hold and resumed her walk; she was heading home, back to her Seto.

The engine of a black car that was parked across the street started to roar, and the vehicle began to move.

The owner also never got the chance to say those simple words.

'I love you, Serenity. I always did.'

**A/N**: If get enough reviews, I promise that I will work on another one-shot. Just give me your opinions. No more, no less.

By the way, I'm still on vacation. But I couldn't resist to post this.


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